I Know I'm No Sweet Prince of Love
by runicmagitek
Summary: Maybe late night studying wasn't such a good idea, but like Max is ever going to complain. Kate/Max


For heywizards on tumblr for the prompt - _Would it be all right if I borrowed your sweater? It smells like you_

* * *

The sun teased Max's face until she pried her eyes open. She didn't remember falling asleep, but there had been plenty of yawns throughout the night while memorizing dates for the world history exam in the morning. Some of the elusive numbers stuck in her memory, almost burned into her retinas, but she required a miracle to pull off a passing grade.

Lolling her head about, she yawned and peered to the floor. Multiple, open text books paired with rushed notes on lined papers splayed everywhere. Amidst the chaos was Kate's bag.

 _That_ _'s right_ , Max thought. _Kate came over. We were studying together. I wonder if she went back to—_

As Max brought her head to center, her cheek met with skin. She froze and peered down. Curled up into her was Kate herself, still wearing yesterday's outfit, albeit without her sweater and shoes. Her hair was down—had Max ever _seen_ it down?—and the disheveled mess had a charm that Max couldn't place.

All the while, Kate slept, nestled into the crook of Max's neck with a gentle hand over her chest. Max feared her now racing heart pulsing into Kate's palm would stir her awake, yet she continued to sleep.

One moment, they were studying. And yawning. Kate had slumped over into Max with a whimper.

 _Just one more chapter, Kate,_ Max had told her. _Come on, we can do it!_

 _I dunno, Max. It_ _'s... really late._

 _Yeah, I know. But it_ _'s almost done. Then we can pass out._

Maybe they finished that chapter. Maybe they didn't. But they most certainly aced falling asleep.

Apparently together.

Blush colored Max's cheeks as she smiled at Kate. If only they didn't have an exam first thing in the morning... then maybe they could stay just like that. Together. Untouched by everything but the sun.

Though Max made the mistake of stretching out her cramped limbs, sending Kate into a series of whirrs. After a yawn and a stretch of her own, Kate blinked her eyes open. She exhibited a similar level of lethargy that Max sympathized with, yet reality shot Kate's eyes wide open as she jolted up to seated.

"Oh no! I feel asleep!" Kate whipped her head about. "W-what time is it?!"

"I mean," Max said, "my alarm hasn't gone off yet, so—"

"Shit!"

Max froze and stared at Kate, who immediately slammed a hand over her mouth from her impulsive expletive. Max bit her cheek to refrain from chuckling, though she could do little with averting her eyes.

With the way the sunlight caught in Kate's hair, it nearly shimmered. A moment like that was worthy of a picture, but with how flustered Kate was, Max thought against it.

"I-I slept in your room," Kate rushed out. "In your bed. And you... I... it was so late, I didn't mean to—"

"Hey, slow down," Max spoke with a chuckle. She pushed herself to seated and faced Kate. "We were both tired and were up late working really hard. It was bound to happen."

"But I didn't mean—"

"It's okay, Kate." Max patted her shoulders to emphasize that notion.

Kate shook her head, eyes drawn down. "I'm better than this, though. I'm usually on top of my studies and not falling behind with something as simple as studying."

"You've been having a hard time this past week." Max gave her a squeeze. "Being depressed is like trying to fight off the flu. It just sucks people don't see it that way."

A light scoff escaped Kate. "I wish I _had_ the flu."

"Well, I don't. I wouldn't have anyone to study with me. But regardless, you shouldn't beat yourself up, Kate. You tried your best and I guess this was your body's way of saying you needed rest." She paused, smiled, and rolled her eyes. "Same goes for me. Nothing wrong with getting some beauty sleep."

"Please, I'm far from beautiful right now."

"I think not."

Kate stared at Max, lips ajar and cheeks blushing.

 _...I didn_ _'t say that out loud, did I?_

Biting her lip, Kate tucked some hair behind her ear. "Did you... just imply that I'm—"

 _Nope, I definitely said that out loud. Fuck._

Max flailed her hands in front of her, trying to ignore the heat rising in her face. "I-I was just... what I was going for was... look, all I was trying to say was—"

"You... actually think I'm beautiful?"

She held back the need to bury her face in a pillow and scream. They had an exam to worry about. If she couldn't keep her head on straight for that, how the hell was she supposed to compose coherent words for Kate?

But it wasn't a lie. Far from it. Kate had always meant a great deal to Max in more ways than she could express. It was why Max was more than content to bend over backwards for her. If only she could kiss away those tears Kate would shed. The last thing she wanted to do was complicate Kate's life further with a confession of how she really felt.

And yet now she was asking Max for exactly that.

Swallowing hard, Max met Kate's gaze. "Um... yeah?" _Smooth. Really smooth. Watch out, world, Maxine the Lady Killer is on the prowl._

Kate's gaze faltered and Max's heart vaulted into her throat. _I should have said nothing... but what am I supposed to do? Just be silent while she puts herself down?_

"I-I mean," Max spoke, rubbing her own arm to calm her nerves, "you've always been a beautiful person, Kate. Inside and out. You look great right now. The bed head looks suits you."

An obnoxious sound shrilled through the room, stiffening both of their spines. Max cursed under her breath as she scrambled to turn her alarm off. Finally catching sight of the hour, she groaned. Just enough time for them to collect their things and head on out.

"Doesn't look like there's a hot shower in our near future," Max mumbled. "I don't think we're going to be excused for being fashionably late due to hygiene." She laughed, albeit nervously. "Guess we're not trying to pick up any cute guys, right?"

Looking back to Kate, she found her shrugging. "Wasn't really my intention to begin with."

"Yeah."

Without another word, they slid off of Max's bed to pick up to textbooks and notebooks from the floor. Max glanced in her mirror to attempt making herself presentable in public. No time for make-up, though a new shirt would help. She shrugged off her hoodie and searched her drawers for something else.

"Um, Max?"

She peeked past her shoulder. "Hmm? What's up, Kate?"

"Um..." She fidgeted in place, unable to hold Max's gaze. The warm hue on her cheeks had to be from the sun bathing her skin, or so Max convinced herself. "Can I borrow your hoodie?"

"Uh, sure. I don't see why not." Like she was ever going to say no to Kate. "Which one do you want? I got a collection, you know." But when Kate pointed to the one Max tossed to the floor, she raised an eyebrow. "You don't want a clean one? I was in that all yesterday and slept in it."

Kate's eyes pierced through Max's. "It smells like you."

Max blinked and swore the same heat burning Kate's face was also consuming her own. She recalled finding Kate nestled into her, beyond content. If only they didn't need to go to class.

A smile tugged at her lips. "Of course."

Retrieving the hoodie, Max offered it to Kate. She had never seen her friend in anything casual before. The laid-back hoodie mixed with the untucked blouse, skirt, and messy hair was a sight to behold. Max was certain she could even get used to it. More so when Kate paused to inhale the fabric.

"Oh, here." Max slipped in closer to fix the hood. "It's inside out. Wouldn't want you walking around with it like that."

"I'm already rolling out of bed and going to class. The hood flipped out is the least of my—"

Their noses bumped and both held their breath. Max was content with staying right there for the rest of the day. From the lack of movement on Kate's behalf, maybe the feeling was mutual. And as much as Max didn't want to further complicate Kate's life, watching her light up as she slid on the hoodie left Max's heart skipping a beat.

Thus she swallowed down her anxiety, got up on her tip toes, and placed a soft kiss between Kate's eyes.

"Come on." Max gestured to the door with her chin. "Let's get going to—"

Soft lips met with hers. Not completely center—more off to the corner. Something coy, yet something sincere. Like a feather brushing over her skin; one second it exhilarated her senses and the next it was over.

Max stood speechless. Kate brushed hair out of her eyes while averting her stare.

"I'm sorry," Kate rushed out.

Without thinking, Max pulled her into a tight embrace. "Hey. Don't ever be sorry."

Kate squeaked against Max's grip. "Y-you sure?"

"I'm positive."

Once the embrace loosened and they parted, Kate looked to her with a pout. "So... where does this leave us, then?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean... I don't know about you, but the thought of staying as just friends after... _this_... it feels weird. Though so does putting any label to this. Whatever _this_ is."

"Well," Max replied, smiling and bumping shoulders with Kate, "we do what any normal, young, budding duo does."

"What's that?"

"Go out on a date, silly!"

"Oh! Um... like what?"

Max shrugged. "Whatever you like. Movies, dinner, games, walk on the beach... things like that. Why don't you pick?"

Kate dropped her gaze, clearly thinking as her eyes flicked about. "What about ice cream after classes?"

"Ice cream? During _autumn_?"

"Yeah? So?"

"I don't think there are any ice cream stands opened this season."

"It's not like ice cream is outlawed. We can go to a restaurant that has some. What about that diner you like going to? Surely they have something."

Kate was right. Maybe they could split a sundae. Hell, maybe they could skip classes after the test and do just that.

"Sounds like a date," Max said with a wink.

While Kate giggled initially, her face morphed into something more serious. "We better move if we want to make it to class in time."

Max glanced at her clock quickly. _Shit._ "Yeah, maybe if we run."

"Or walk really, really fast?"

Lacing her free hand into Kate's, Max tossed her a wink. "Only one way to find out."


End file.
